There must be something in those smoothies at Avocado Café to make the family that operates it so relentlessly happy.

But it's a genuine joy that seems to radiate from Tripp and Felicia Floyd, and their mother, Gale Goodman-Floyd. It's a feeling that a mom and her two grown children are doing something they love, together.

Gale Goodman-Floyd, a retired Air Force officer, found the space in a 100-year-old home in Bracken Village, transformed it into a restaurant and opened last August. The menu refers to her as GG.

The family and their place is so sweet and sincere that it's worth the drive from San Antonio just to hang out for a while.

The food is good, too.

Naturally, several dishes here featured avocado.

Among them, the Avocado Café Signature Sandwich, which combines slices of avocadoes and tomatoes with spring mix and an herb-enriched mayonnaiselike spread. It doesn't have any meat, but you'll be too busy enjoying it to care.

The Signature BLT Bowl combines bits of applewood-smoked bacon with chunks of avocado, spring greens and an excellent house-made ranch dressing, and is served with a couple of slices of wheat berry bread, grilled on a panini maker.

The version here of eggs Benedict also includes thin slices of avocado. Maybe the hollandaise sauce needed a bit more richness and depth of flavor, and the bread needed toasting, but you gotta give Goodman-Floyd credit for including the luxurious dish on a menu that could have just focused on salads and sandwiches.

Not every dish, though, features avocados. That would be too cutesy, and this place doesn't veer into that territory. For an appetizer, we chose the artichoke and cheese dip, served with veggie chips. It's creamy, salty and cheesy, just like something a thoughtful host or hostess would serve to good friends before a dinner party.

Although our visit took place during lunch, the dinner menu looks intriguing, with items such as ceviche, an avocado flatbread and kimchi soup with coconut rice. The family lived in Okinawa for five years, and Goodman-Floyd learned how to make ramen and other Asian dishes. Those alone may be worth checking out during a future visit.

Also, we're going to have to look into some items on the extensive list of smoothies, including the Signature Avocado Milkshake.

During our lunch visit, a large party of around 10 diners sat in an adjacent room and our dishes took a while to arrive. At different times, all three apologized for the wait and Tripp Floyd brought out complimentary cookies that looked and tasted almost like blondies to help make up for it.

OK — after one of those cookies, we were pretty chipper, too.

etijerina@express-news.net

Twitter: @etij

Editor's Note: The phone number for Avocado Café in the Bracken Village is 210-441-8536. A review on page H7 of the June 30 Taste section gave the incorrect number.